Ardie-Ganz prototype

The test drives carried out so far […] have not only proven that it’s possible to build a lightweight vehicle that’s absolutely safe to drive but that amazing results can be achieved, with absolutely solid road holding of a kind quite unknown until now.

Josef Ganz in Motor-Kritik, 1930

In 1930, Josef Ganz decided to build a first prototype of his Volkswagen idea. After initial contacts with Zündapp and DKW, Josef Ganz built a prototype in the summer of 1930 at the Ardie motorcycle factory in Nurnberg. This car featured a central tubular chassis, a mid-mounted motorcycle engine, and independent wheel suspension with swinging rear half-axles.

Chassis of the Ardie-Ganz prototype under construction at Ardie, 1930

Only one chassis of the Ardie-Ganz prototype was built, but with two different types of bodywork. The first was a rudimentary, open two-seater with a welded steel body. The second model also was a two-seater, but with a more classic looking body with a boat-tail, constructed from wood and finished in artificial leather.

Josef Ganz test-driving the Ardie-Ganz prototype, 1930

Surviving carsAs far as it is known today, neither the chassis nor either of the two bodyworks survived. According to legend, the prototype was destroyed in 1933/34 by a Nazi opponent of Josef Ganz, who tried to erase evidence of early Ganz-Volkwagen constructions.

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